US: Target sales drive Q2 profits

US retailer Target Corp. today (17 August) posted an increase in second-quarter net income due to an acceleration in the pace of same-store sales growth.

For the quarter ended 30 July, net earnings were up 3.7% to US$704m as sales increased 5.1% to $15.9bn. Same-store sales rose 3.9% over the period.

EBIT rose 4.6% on the same quarter of the previous year to $1.1bn, while EBIT margin remained flat on the same period of the previous year at 7.2%.

Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said: "We're very pleased with our second-quarter financial results, which benefited from an acceleration in the pace of our comparable-store sales growth. We continue to focus on strong execution of our strategy, preparing Target to perform well in a variety of economic environments."

Shares in the company were up 4.66% at 10:27 ET today to $51.67 a share.